Towel Drills Back in 2009!

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Towel Drills started last year as a way for a few friends to share their Cubs rants with even more friends. Somewhere along the line, you, Cubs Fan, started paying attention. Before long, Towel Drills was bigger than Jebus. And now we're asking for your help to continue to grow TD into the Blogawesomeosphere.

TD is looking to take on a few additional writers for the upcoming season. We need people who can commit to posting on a regular basis and who have access to post throughout the day. We're specifically seeking at least one "news man" who can post breaking Cubs news the segundo it drops. Freedom to also write about what interests you in relation to the Cubs we can offer. Any other form of payment, monetary, seshual, or other, we cannot (but only b/c the seshual thing is illegal).

If you're interested in trying your hand at blogging, hit us up at toweldrills@gmail.com. How you "apply" is up to you. Send us some writing, some ideas, an 8x10 glossy of Ronnie Woo Woo (please, don't), send bags of cash (please, do)-your call. We're looking forward to adding some talent to the staff and to continue making TD the best gosh darn TD it can be!

RECENT POSTS

With the draft now complete, let's put a bow on Towel Drills' unbelievably amazing coverage.

All told, the Cubs drafted the rights to 51 players over the two day draft. We'll see how many of these guys sign and how many decide to try their luck with the draft again next year. All but 8 of these players were from the college ranks. The Cubs, and Tim Wilken, have been showing a preference for college aged players of late-all but 4 of the Cubs draftees in '07 were college players. 28 of the players in the draft class are pitchers.

"It was, 'Get the guy who's going to be the best Major League player,'" Cubs assistant general manager Randy Bush said Friday. "It's a philosophy [scouting director] Tim [Wilken] has, and we all agree with that philosophy."

Interesting choice here in Sonny Gray. He's a short righty who draws a lot of Roy Oswalt comparisons. Gray is thought of as a first round talent but spent most of his senior year of high school injured and is, thus, basically considered unsignable. He's likely heading to Vandy in the fall. In fact, kid actually sent a letter to MLB's Scouting Bureau asking that he not be drafted. The hell is that? (Incidentally, I also sent a letter-that's, like, totally why I didn't get drafted again this year. Otherwise...)

Baseball America has a nice review of the first round selections here. Here's what BA has to say about the Cubs' selection of Cashner:

For a while, it appeared that the state of Texas might get shut out of the draft's first round for the first time since 1977. That's unlikely to happen now, thanks to Cashner, the hottest pitching prospect to come out of Angelina (Texas) JC since Clay Buchholz. Cashner turned down opportunities last year to sign with the Rockies (as a draft-and-follow) and the Cubs (as a 29th-rounder), opting instead to transfer to Texas Christian. A starter at Angelina, Cashner has excelled as a reliever for the Horned Frogs. No college pitcher in this draft can match his consistent 96-98 mph velocity, the product of outstanding whip in his 6-foot-6, 180-pound frame, and overmatched opponents have hit just .104 against him. Cashner has armside run on his fastball, and he backs it up with an 84-85 mph slider that can be electric. The slider is much better than the mediocre curveball he threw in the past, though it's not always consistent. Neither is his command, which may prevent him from becoming an effective starter, but some clubs are interested in returning him to that role in pro ball. A team in love with radar-gun readings could take Cashner as high as the middle of the first round.

That's pretty much all the Interweb has to offer us on this draft. Check back in 5-7 years and we'll see how this draft turned out for us.